Help dress the poppy dress for charity

Students, staff and members of the public are invited to help college students create a poppy dress, to commemorate 100 years since the Great War ended.

Creative Coleg Gwent students have artistically updated the traditional Royal British Legion poppy symbol by creating versions using different colours, fabrics and designs. The group of 48 Level 3 students have used techniques including fabric manipulation, 2D and 3D printing among others as part of their UAL Art and Design Extended Diploma course, to create the poppy designs.

How can I get involved?

The poppies will be on sale for a small donation at Coleg Gwent’s Crosskeys campus on Tuesday 23 October. Students and staff from the college, as well as members of the public, can purchase a poppy on the day and pin it to the installation dress at the Crosskeys campus reception. Auschwitz survivor and war veteran, Ron Jones, will be unveiling the installation dress at 11am on the day.

The dress will be travelling to other venues including John Lewis and St. David’s Hall in Cardiff after 23 October through to Remembrance Day (Sunday 11 November).

Natalie Thomas, Course Leader UAL art and design and fashion and textiles lecturer at Crosskeys campus, said: “It’s great to give our students a chance to honour Remembrance Day in their own creative way using methods they’re learning in the classroom. We’re looking forward to seeing how the dress will look and encourage the public to pop into our Crosskeys campus to help donate to this exciting project for such a worthy cause.”

The students taking part are on their first year of the new two year course that only started in September. As the college is now an approved centre for the University of the Arts London awarding body, learners are gaining a range of skills so they can progress onto jobs in art and design, photography, fashion and textiles.

There’s still time to enrol on the UAL Art and Design Extended Diploma, or any of the other arts subject sat the college.